Games we play often provide lessons to learn

Tuesday

Sep 10, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Often the games we play reflect the lives we lead, and therein lies lessons to be learned. They show us how important it is to always respect each other, CEOs and food severs alike. They provide us an appreciation for humility and a disdain for arrogance.

Often the games we play reflect the lives we lead, and therein lies lessons to be learned. They show us how important it is to always respect each other, CEOs and food severs alike. They provide us an appreciation for humility and a disdain for arrogance. We hesitate to bring this up, knowing there are hundreds of Appalachian State University alumni and Mountaineer football fans among us here in Davidson County. But we're thinking the majority of Appalachian State fans will agree that Saturday's football game against N.C. A&T, in which the Mountaineers lost 24-21, was a prime example of how a superior team should not play the game.The contest started routinely enough as the Mountaineers drove about 80 yards and scored on their first possession. But then, they went for two on the conversion try and failed. The logic there, one can only assume, was that it offered no huge gamble. ASU wouldn't need the points if it happened to fail, the game wasn't going to be close anyway. Success meant more points faster, and a big blowout would begin. It would set the fans into a frenzy and initiate another giddy Saturday in Boone. It was a sign of a great lack of respect. And by the time the Mountaineers acknowledged they were in for a battle, which didn't occur until the second half, many of their fans were embarrassed enough to leave the stadium. A&T led 21-6 at the half.If ASU had played a smarter, more respectful game, it may have ended up winning. For example, instead of taking a knee and ending the first half down just 14-6, the Mountaineers decided to throw the bomb. It ended up being intercepted and returned for a touchdown.There were other suspect plays as well, such as trying to convert on fourth downs when they should have been punting.We are reminded of the 2004 season when Wake Forest played A&T and won 42-3. The Deacons were up three touchdowns late in the first half against the outmatched Aggies. Wake was driving and into four-down territory. With many second-unit players already in the game, instead of punching in another touchdown or kicking a field goal — the Deacons were well within range — coach Jim Grobe let the clock expire. One fan in the stadium that day was heard to say, "He's probably the only coach in the ACC who would have done that." He was probably correct. And that says a lot about the Wake Forest coach as a person.Life is truly not about winning and losing, but how you play the game.